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Published on: April 2, 2014
Effect of High Calorie Diet on Intestinal Flora in LPS-Induced Pneumonia Rats
Chen Bai1, Tiegang Liu1, Jingnan Xu1
1Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, ChaoYang District, Beijing, 100029, China.
Insights
A high-calorie diet worsens pneumonia in rats, impacting gut bacteria and inflammation. This suggests a link between diet, gut microbiome, and respiratory illness recovery.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Intestinal flora is crucial for host inflammatory responses.
- High-calorie diets can worsen pneumonia and impede recovery, particularly in children.
- The precise mechanisms linking diet, gut microbiota, and pneumonia progression are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the synergistic effects of a high-calorie diet and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) atomization on pneumonia in rats.
- To elucidate the role of intestinal flora alterations in the progression of pneumonia under these conditions.
Main Methods:
- SPF rats were exposed to a conventional environment, high-calorie diet, or LPS atomization, individually and in combination.
- High-throughput sequencing of intestinal content was performed.
- Animal weight, organ index, serum inflammatory factors, and bioinformatics analyses were conducted.
Main Results:
- Combined high-calorie diet and LPS exposure led to weight loss and increased lung weight index in rats.
- Pulmonary infection coupled with a high-calorie diet exacerbated inflammatory changes in lung and intestinal tissues.
- Significant alterations in gut flora structure were observed, including reduced Leuconostocaceae and increased Staphylococcus, Planococcaceae, Staphylococcaceae, Bacillales, Gemellales, and Aerococcus.
- Even conventional diet-fed pneumonia rats exhibited gut flora imbalance.
Conclusions:
- High-calorie diet and LPS atomization synergistically promote pneumonia progression in rat pups.
- Changes in intestinal flora structure are closely associated with the aggravation of pneumonia.
- Dietary interventions may be critical for managing pneumonia, even in the absence of specific infections.
Abstract:
Intestinal flora plays an important role in inflammatory response to systemic or local organs of its host. High calorie diet has been shown to aggravate the condition of pneumonia and delay recovery, especially in children. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study placed SPF rats in a conventional environment, high calorie diet or LPS atomization was performed respectively or combined. Analysis of high-throughput sequencing of intestinal content combined with animal weight, organ index, serum inflammatory factors indicators and bioinformatics found that after pulmonary infection combined with a high-calorie diet, rats showed significant changes such as weight loss and increased lung weight index, and their lung and intestinal tissues showed more obvious inflammatory changes. And its gut flora structure suggests, the abundance of Leuconostocaceae in significantly reduced; abundance of Staphylococcus, Planococcaceae, Staphylococcus, Staphylococcaceae, Bacillales, Gemellales and Aerococcus significant increased. The study showed that high calorie diet and LPS atomization synergistically promoted pneumonia process in rat pups, which is related to changes in structure of intestinal flora. It is worth noting that pneumonia rats fed by convention diet also causing intestinal flora imbalance.
